A baseball basic. How to give signals to the pitcher.

The catcher holds one of the sacred keys to baseball success. He calls the pitches that the pitcher throws. When he drops the pitch, it is absolutely critical that those signals are not exposed. There are many ways in which they could be exposed. Here are some insidious things that a catcher can do to undermine his cause.

When the catcher drops his signs he must make sure that both legs are relatively closed so neither base coach can see the signs.

The catcher must also make sure that his glove hand is hiding the view from the 3rd base coaches box.

The catcher must also not move too quickly after giving the sign. There are some subtle movements that a catcher can make that can tip his hand. The catcher wants to move as late as possible following the sign given.

In a state tournament playoff baseball game, this basic tenet of baseball was broken. The unsuspecting pitcher probably deserved a better fate. But, the catcher simply didn't recognize one of baseball's basic expectations.